The Blues boss goes into Tuesday night’s home game against Thurrock desperately trying to get the best out of his faltering side – but he has been hit by new injury problems.

Ollie Humphrey was injured during the weekend 3-1 defeat at Staines, suffering a fractured fibula and fractured knee.

Andrew Fisk came on to replace him – and Lady Luck then left the room completely, as he has now picked up an injury.

“That is a big blow because when he came on Fisky looked really sharp,” said Gallagher. “I just hope it settles down quickly, although obviously Ollie is going to be out for some time.”

Travis Cole is suspended – but would have been unavailable anyway after suffering an ankle injury during training. Rory McAuley missed Saturday’s trip, but Gallagher is hopeful he can be involved on Tuesday.

“Hopefully Rory will be available – he adds strength to us and we will need that,” Gallagher added.

Lowestoft need to kick-start their season soon: they are third from bottom, with six points from eight games, while Tuesday’s opponents are two places and two points ahead.

Gallagher has seen signs of recovery: it’s just a case of slotting all the good bits into place at the same time.

“We have got to start winning games,” he said. “We have had a really, really tough start to the season and we haven’t got enough points, but I am still encouraged by some elements of our play.

“The defence have had a lot of pressure in recent weeks and have done well, but we had ourselves to blame for the goals at Staines. We made mistakes and we got punished.

“We have elements of our performances in different games which are good, but it is a case of putting them all together at the same time.

“We’ve got two home games in a row now and we need to get some good home form going and generate some belief that we can be a good side.

“When we get a lead we must be able to hold on to it – and not for just a few minutes. We need to have something on which to build.”